COMMONWEALTH Games champion and two-time European gold medallist Daniel Keatings has announced his retirement from competitive gymnastics.

The Scot played a major role in Great Britain’s rise to become a powerhouse on the world gymnastics stage.

Keatings, 27, recorded a number of historic firsts for Team GB throughout his career, including a world all-around silver medal in 2009 and European gold on the pommel horse in 2010.

He was an integral part of the silver-winning Team Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with Keatings also claiming all-around silver and pommel horse gold. He competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, although missed London 2012 due to injury.

“I’m getting to that age now where there are younger guys coming through and it felt like the right time to retire on a high with my achievements in Glasgow still fresh,” he said.

“The past 18 months I have struggled with injuries here and there.”